[Zigsuk]

I regularly see lads from the academy coming out of the ground and I always think how many of them are there, and more to the point how many actually make it. It would seem not very many at any club. I used to work with young people and in Sheffield there was a Wednesday fan but he was at our academy. He told me that although Wednesdays academy was a lot bigger it was harder to get into, hence him being with us.
It has always been difficult to succeed in pro football but academies don’t seem to have made it any easier. Have we had even one player who has been a success from our academy? I know there have been a few who had potential which didn’t seem to be fulfilled. Wasn’t Rowley one?
As I said it’s always been hard to make it in the game. I was at primary school with a lad whose birthday was the same day as mine. To my young eyes he seemed brilliant. I once played against him in a one v one in the park, the pair of us kicking into one goal. I never got a touch, not only was he more skilful than me but much bigger. We went to different secondary schools and I only saw him occasionally but heard he was still a good footballer who’d had trials with different clubs WBA and even Arsenal were rumoured But he ended up working on a building site. Similarly a mate of my dad’s in the 50’s played for England schoolboys and had a trial for Man Utd but ended up down the pit. I read that of all those kids who played for England school boys when games used to be on television only one, that Thomas guy who I think played for Palace went on to represent England at senior level and most,despite playing for their country at fifteen, didn’t even make it professionally.
It seems despite all the academies there is probably a less than 5 % chance they are going to enjoy a professional career.

[jack'smyboy]

I wish the penny would drop for many young kids who dream of being a professional footballer. We see it time and time in school. They think because they've been noticed, that a lucrative career awaits them. They think they don't need to put effort into their education, leaving them very little to fall back on when their dreams don't come to fruition.

[rodney]

jack, on 18 May 2025 - 09:41 AM, said:

I wish the penny would drop for many young kids who dream of being a professional footballer. We see it time and time in school. They think because they've been noticed, that a lucrative career awaits them. They think they don't need to put effort into their education, leaving them very little to fall back on when their dreams don't come to fruition.

100% agree. Many, not all academies, are giving false hope to 100s of kids and families. Only 1 in 1,000s will make it. I find it particularly immoral they start at U6/7s at academies!!!

[calvin plummers socks]

Nothing to see here folks

[Between The Sticks]

They need to look at Bob Wilson ex-Arsenal Goalkeeper and in most cases follow his path. If they are really good enough they will still make it a little later.

[Osborne again]

When there's dreams to be had, there tends to be plenty of takers. It doesn't seem to matter how ridiculous the odds. You only need to look at how many actually think they'll eventually when the lottery jackpot.
With parents ready to push their kids at such young ages, it's hardly going to change.

[Siberian Spireite]

The potential to oversell minuscule hopes is what attracted Chris Turner into the market.

[calvin plummers socks]

Between The Sticks, on 18 May 2025 - 11:39 AM, said:

They need to look at Bob Wilson ex-Arsenal Goalkeeper and in most cases follow his path. If they are really good enough they will still make it a little later.

Hardly the best example to follow in 2025 though but the sentiment is right

[60s 70s Spireite]

Between The Sticks, on 18 May 2025 - 11:39 AM, said:

They need to look at Bob Wilson ex-Arsenal Goalkeeper and in most cases follow his path. If they are really good enough they will still make it a little later.

Without academy coaching? I very much doubt it nowadays.

[jono_davies]

Laurence Maguire, Jake Beesley, Davis Keillor-Dunn, Joe Rowley, Levi Amantchi and Ricky German have had the better careers out of our academy of recent times.

Rhyle Ovenden and Laken Torres both got signed up by Watford before making reaching our first team, with the latter now at Gimnástica in Spain.

I feel Ali Mohiuddin has been very unlucky with injuries and the amount of competition in CM as I feel he's one of the best to come from the academy in recent years. Gunner Elliott is also generating lots of interest with scouts from plenty of clubs watching him.

The jump from the U18s/U23s is huge, many have looked good in the U23 but make little impact in the first team squad.

[Looker-on]

With the demise in competitive school sport I suppose academies are something of a necessary thing, but we should differentiate between those run by clubs or a club's Trust, as ours is, and those run by private individuals. The former might break even at best, while the latter is run for the private gain of the owner. That in itself isn't a terrible thing, but it opens to door to so many chancers, crooks, former non-league goalkeepers and "International Scouting consultants" whose knowledge of football wouldn't fill half a page of "Shoot!" and who are not involved in official club-based academies because they have things in their past that mean clubs wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

[calvin plummers socks]

Looker-on, on 19 May 2025 - 07:26 AM, said:

With the demise in competitive school sport I suppose academies are something of a necessary thing, but we should differentiate between those run by clubs or a club's Trust, as ours is, and those run by private individuals. The former might break even at best, while the latter is run for the private gain of the owner. That in itself isn't a terrible thing, but it opens to door to so many chancers, crooks, former non-league goalkeepers and "International Scouting consultants" whose knowledge of football wouldn't fill half a page of "Shoot!" and who are not involved in official club-based academies because they have things in their past that mean clubs wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

School sport has never been more competitive !

[Misnomer]

jack, on 18 May 2025 - 09:41 AM, said:

I wish the penny would drop for many young kids who dream of being a professional footballer. We see it time and time in school. They think because they've been noticed, that a lucrative career awaits them. They think they don't need to put effort into their education, leaving them very little to fall back on when their dreams don't come to fruition.

I think that's also bad parenting. Having worked at a couple of Prem clubs and also with their academies, the kids buy into the system and it's hard for them to see beyond it. Most lads, who genuinely thought they were good enough for Prem/Championship level, find themselves in the National League or lower. I remember one year where, bar one, everyone of them was cut.

But yes, their focus is shifted from education. Trying to have scheduled class time with them was always a laugh. It was like trying to educate a class full of naughty kids, and that went up to 21 level.

[Wooden Spoon]

Between The Sticks, on 18 May 2025 - 11:39 AM, said:

They need to look at Bob Wilson ex-Arsenal Goalkeeper and in most cases follow his path. If they are really good enough they will still make it a little later.

More recently Tom Curtis

[Zigsuk]

Wooden Spoon, on 19 May 2025 - 11:45 AM, said:

More recently Tom Curtis

Tom Curtis was a very decent player I am ashamed to say I forgot about.

[60s 70s Spireite]

Wooden Spoon, on 19 May 2025 - 11:45 AM, said:

More recently Tom Curtis

That’s one in 30 years then.
Ironically Tom has spent his entire post playing career coaching -very often at the FA - working with Academy level representative teams.

[dah]

calvin plummers socks, on 19 May 2025 - 07:37 AM, said:

School sport has never been more competitive !

[rodney]

calvin plummers socks, on 19 May 2025 - 07:37 AM, said:

School sport has never been more competitive !

I would respectfully disagree. That said, it may still be the case in certain schools.

[Sammy Spireite]

Does this count as an Academy win or a loss?

https://chesterfield...eading-overseas

[KevoBMMD]

calvin plummers socks, on 19 May 2025 - 07:37 AM, said:

School sport has never been more competitive !

Unfortunately Not at my lads school.

No Sports Days and all Team events with no winners or losers
no Football Team, although last month they did have an inter school Cross Country Race but with mixed years